Enron

The Commission looks closely at financial statements, down to the smallest footnote, putting more pressure on true financial metrics, but also on the explanations for matters ranging from revenue to risk.

There is no absolute right or wrong way to structure an organization’s legal and compliance departments. Organizations, however, are better served from a legal and compliance perspective if they have separate GC and CCO positions.

These provisions suggest that Section 546(e) insulates from recovery an enormous range of payments if such payments were made to complete a securities transaction or in connection with a securities contract.

A Morgan Stanley managing director ended up in prison for committing substantial Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, but the strength of the company’s compliance program helped it avoid enforcement actions from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).